Comment Re:Drones in US airspace? (Score 1) 215
Honestly, that's highly unlikely. First of all, you have to get past the feeling that we need a person up front to make sure everything works right. After all, what if the plane has a malfunction, the computer can't correct it right, a human knows how to solve it, but the communication link is down? All those events have happened, but not necessiarly together, and admittedly the chance of that happening is so slim you may have a better chance of winning the lottery. But you know what? People still win the lottery, and that situation will eventually happen. Would you be willing to risk 200 people just to save a little money? The airlines may try it, but Ford was accused of something a little similar and it didn't go well.
Second, you already have a plane full of people. You'd save very little weight by taking one person off a plane. Also, you still give people that warm fuzzy that someone is up front minding the shop even if all he does is press "go" and "stop."
If we eventually get AI to the point that people accept them as capable as a human, then you might get the pilot off the plane, but even then I doubt it.
Now cargo planes... That's another story. I see FedEx and UPS going pilotless in the not to distant future.